FreedomWorks - automobilehttp://www.freedomworks.org/fieldtags/automobile
enWhy Are Car Dealerships Still a Thing?http://www.freedomworks.org/content/why-are-car-dealerships-still-thing
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>There are few retail experiences worse than buying a car. Before setting foot in a dealership, I spend weeks researching makes and models, printing out price sheets and psyching myself up like I’m headed into an MMA bout.</p><p>“What if he tries to sell me the extended warranty? <em>I’ll say no!</em> Rustproof undercoating? <em>No way! </em>That lease looks like a pretty good opti… <em>NO!</em>”</p><p>Despite constant promises of zero haggling and low-pressure sales, I always leave a dealership with a pronounced limp and wondering where my watch went.</p><p>In a world of one-click ordering from Amazon and iTunes, why can’t I just purchase the exact car I want on <em>my</em> terms? The answer is simple: Most state governments have made it illegal.</p><p>Automobile dealerships are some of the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=T2300" target="_blank">best-connected businesses</a> in local politics. They contribute a large chunk of sales revenue and campaign cash so politicians reward them with sweetheart legislation.</p><p>In nearly every state, manufacturers are not allowed to directly sell cars to customers. Instead, those vehicles need to pass through the middleman of a local dealership. And there’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/14/auto-dealers-and-state-legislatures-conspire-to-make-cars-more-expensive-can-tesla-change-that/" target="_blank">a list of laws</a> to protect dealerships from any upstart that might compete in this lucrative market.</p><p>This crony capitalism helped <a href="http://faculty.som.yale.edu/FionaScottMorton/documents/StateFranchiseLawsDealerTerminationsandtheAutoCrisis.pdf " target="_blank">scuttle the plans</a> of a successful entrepreneur named Scott Painter. Using the “Dell model” of built-to-order computers, customers would select the exact options desired and Painter would deliver a sparkling new car to their doors.&nbsp;The tangle of protectionist policies stole that opportunity — and significant cost savings — from you and me.</p><p>The latest company to drive headlong into the growing wall of red tape is Tesla Motors. The luxury electric car manufacturer sees no reason to create an expensive network of dealerships when they could sell directly to the customer. Not only do the various state laws make that difficult, some states are actively trying to keep Tesla out.</p><p>The <em><a href="http://www.statesman.com/news/business/tesla-lobbies-to-sell-its-electric-cars-directly-t/nXHrY/" target="_blank">Austin American-Statesman</a></em> reveals that Texas isn’t always open for business: "You can visit one of the two galleries Tesla Motors operates in the state — one in Austin, the other in Houston — but employees can't tell you how much the car costs. They can't offer you a test drive. They can't even give you their website address. And if you buy one, the car is delivered by a third party — in a truck that's not allowed to have Tesla markings."</p><p>The legislatures in North Carolina, New York and Colorado also have <a href="http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/28/tesla-vs-the-auto-dealers-of-america/" target="_blank">pushed measures</a> intended to keep Teslas out of the hands of their residents.</p><p>Tesla is no angel when it comes to <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-20/news/ct-oped-0620-chapman-20130620_1_tesla-motors-car-dealers-car-costs" target="_blank">government intervention in the free market</a>. The politically connected “green” business has benefited mightily from federal largesse and targeted tax credits. But two wrongs don’t make a right.&nbsp;</p><p>State and federal governments must stop choosing winners and losers in the marketplace since the only real loser is the customer. And politicians should step out of the way when innovative entrepreneurs try to radically improve the buying process for you and me.</p><p><em>Follow Jon on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ExJon" target="_blank">@ExJon</a>.</em></p></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Aug 2013 19:21:36 +0000joncgabriel57737 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/why-are-car-dealerships-still-thing#commentsIn the War on Cars, the Left is Winninghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/war-cars-left-winning
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Detroit serves as a cautionary tale warning of long-term liberal leadership. As Michigan’s governor prepares a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/michigan-governor-s-move-sets-detroit-takeover-in-motion.html" target="_blank">state takeover</a> of the terminally troubled city, many blame the short-sighted policies of the local Democratic machine. To be sure, runaway pensions, red ink and union obstinance have helped hollow out the once-mighty Motor City. But liberal antagonism to the city’s economic engine has worsened the decline not only for Detroit, but the entire state.</p><p>As long as we’ve spoken of the American Dream, the automobile has served a primary role in its mythos. <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/06/29/car-czars/" target="_blank">Zora Arkus-Duntov</a>, the designer of the Chevy Corvette, said, “in our age where the average person is a cog wheel who gets pushed in the subways, elevators, department stores, cafeterias . . . the ownership of a different car provides the means to ascertain his individuality to himself and everybody around.”</p><p>Since Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled off the Detroit assembly line, the car has represented the individual and freedom. Finally, the city dweller could chart his own direction outside of a subway or trolley car and the farmer could explore beyond the reach of his horse and buggy.</p><p>But in the Age of Obama, the individual is less important than the group. Hence the push for light rail, high-speed rail, unrealistic mileage standards and emission mandates, rising energy prices, and even the <a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/joncgabriel/crash-for-clunkers" target="_blank">state-ordered destruction</a> of perfectly good automobiles. In the Long March toward the bright progressive future, even transportation needs to be collectivized.</p><p>Although most Americans still want a shiny new car in their garage, that once-common desire is increasingly out of reach. According to a new study, only one city in the nation has a median income that can afford a median-priced new automobile. <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cars-increasingly-reach-many-americans-145957880.html" target="_blank">Gee, I wonder which city that is</a>:</p><blockquote><p>The typical new vehicle is now more expensive than ever, averaging $30,500 in 2012, according to TrueCar.com data, and heading up again as makers curb the incentives that helped make their products more affordable during the recession when they were desperate for sales.</p><p>According to the 2013 Car Affordability Study by Interest.com, only in Washington could the typical household swing the payments, the median income there running $86,680 a year…</p><p>Affordability has been a matter of growing concern for the auto industry in recent years as prices have continued to move upward. Even the most basic of today's cars are generally loaded with features that were once found on high-line models a few decades back - if they were available at all - such as air conditioning, power windows, airbags and electronic stability control, as well as digital infotainment systems. They also have to meet ever tougher federal safety, emissions and mileage standards that have added thousands to the typical price tag.</p></blockquote><p>As Detroit’s long-suffering residents wonder what happened to their American Dream, perhaps they should remember which political party watched over the destruction. If they work hard and save up long enough, maybe their children can afford a nicer car than the one mom and dad were able to buy.</p><p><em>Follow Jon on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ExJon" target="_blank">@ExJon</a>.</em></p></div></div></div>Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:25:06 +0000joncgabriel56079 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/war-cars-left-winning#comments